Things to do in Białystok
Białystok is the capital of Podlachia and the city of the Branicki family: the Baroque residence with its French garden known as the Polish Versailles, Kościuszko Market Square with the town hall, and traces of a multicultural past — Polish, Belarusian, Jewish and Tatar. Białowieża and the Knyszyn Forest are close by.
Map of attractions in Białystok
All 16 places on one map: see what is close together and plan your route.
All attractions (16)
Palaces
Branicki Palace in Białystok
Białystok
In the 19th century more than a hundred statues disappeared from the gardens of Branicki Palace — reportedly because the nude figures might corrupt the pupils of the tsarist Institute for Young Ladies of Noble Birth that had moved into the…
60–120 min
Hidden gemChurches & monasteries
St Nicholas Orthodox Church in Białystok
Białystok
St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral in Białystok is the city's main Orthodox church and the seat of the Białystok–Gdańsk diocese of the Polish Orthodox Church. Its white classical facade, the silhouette of its dome and bell tower, and its fres…
20–45 min Free entry
Hidden gemChurches & monasteries
St Roch's Basilica in Białystok
Białystok
An openwork tower topped by a figure of the Virgin Mary on a crown rises over central Białystok from the hill on Lipowa Street. St Roch's Basilica was built as a church-monument to Poland's regained independence and is one of the key works…
Hidden gemChurches & monasteries
Orthodox Church of the Holy Spirit in Białystok
Białystok
The walls and domes of this church are shaped like the tongues of fire that descended on the apostles at Pentecost — hence its dedication. The Church of the Holy Spirit in Białystok's Wysoki Stoczek district is considered the largest Ortho…
Hidden gemChurches & monasteries
Church of the Lord's Resurrection, Białystok
Białystok
In the Wysoki Stoczek district of Białystok stands a church that looks Baroque but is only a little over thirty years old. The Church of the Lord's Resurrection was built in 1991–1996 as an echo of a lost church in Berezwecz, in what is no…
Hidden gemMuseums
Podlasie Museum in Białystok (Town Hall)
Białystok
Białystok's town hall was never home to the city authorities – from the start it was a market hall full of stalls. In 1940 the Soviet authorities demolished it to make room for a statue of Stalin, and today's building is a post-war reconst…
Churches & monasteries
Orthodox Church of the Resurrection in Białystok
Białystok
Its crystal-shaped dome is meant to evoke the imagery of the Book of Revelation, and beneath it parishioners spent years pouring foundations and carrying bricks themselves. The Orthodox Church of the Resurrection in Białystok's Leśna Dolin…
Landmarks
Napoleon's House in Białystok
Białystok
On busy Jana Pawła II Avenue, at No. 62, stands a small Neoclassical rotunda with a domed roof and a columned portico that locals call Napoleon's House (Domek Napoleona). The name comes from a romantic legend – in reality it was a customs…
10–20 min Free entry
Other
Blues Alley in Białystok
Białystok
Right next to Kościuszko Market Square, a stretch of pavement in Białystok turns into a guide to the history of Polish blues. The slabs of Blues Alley (Aleja Bluesa) carry the names of people who played, recorded and championed the genre –…
10–20 min Free entry
Museums
Ludwik Zamenhof Centre in Białystok
Białystok
"I was brought up as an idealist; I was taught that all people are brothers," Ludwik Zamenhof wrote years later – while recalling that on the streets of Białystok he saw at every step a division into Poles, Russians, Germans and Jews. The…
Churches & monasteries
Białystok Cathedral
Białystok
Białystok Cathedral (pronounced "bee-AH-wih-stok"), formally the Archcathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the main Catholic church of northeastern Poland and the most recognizable building in Białystok. Local…
Museums
Sybir Memorial Museum
Białystok
The Sybir Memorial Museum in Białystok (pronounced "bee-AH-wih-stok") is one of Poland's most powerful modern history museums. It tells the story of Poles and other citizens of the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth who were exiled, impris…
Other
Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic
Białystok
For almost sixty years Białystok's symphony musicians played without a home of their own – in a theatre, in a small palace, in an old hall on Podleśna Street. Today they have one of the most modern music buildings in this part of Europe: a…
Gardens
Parks of Białystok
Białystok
The parks of Białystok (pronounced roughly "bya-WIS-tok") are the easiest way to understand why this northeastern Polish city calls itself one of the greenest in the country. Right in the center, a few minutes' walk from the main square, a…
Free entry
Old towns & squares
Kościuszko Market Square in Białystok
Białystok
Kościuszko Market Square (Rynek Kościuszki) is the main square of Białystok (say "BYAH-wis-tok"), the capital of the Podlasie region in northeastern Poland, about 200 km (125 miles) northeast of Warsaw. This long, car-free promenade center…
Free entry
Historic sites
Jewish Heritage Trail in Białystok
Białystok
The Jewish Heritage Trail in Białystok (pronounced "bee-AH-wih-stok") is a marked walking route through the places that tell the story of Jewish life in this northeastern Polish city: synagogues, industrialists' villas, old neighborhoods,…
Free entry